Seven members of a West Oakland security company with ties to the defunct Your Black Muslim Bakery have been charged with seeking and obtaining government security contracts through fraudulent credentials and insurance in a massive criminal complaint by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors said today. The defendants ran BMT International Security Services and were headquartered in The Black Muslim Temple of Islam No. 1 at 818 27th St., also called Elijah’s University Institute of Islamic Studies.

The building was raided by Oakland police early this morning searching for evidence. All seven suspects have been arrested as of this morning, district attorney’s spokeswoman Teresa Drenick said. They have ties to the now-defunct Your Black Muslim Bakery, which was raided and shut down by Oakland police during a 2007 investigation into top members for murder, torture and kidnapping. District attorney’s inspector Patrick Johnson requested in an affidavit that the seven defendants be denied bail because he suspects their means of income for years has been fraudulent.

Despite being unlicensed and not carrying proper insurance, BMT obtained security contracts by filing fraudulent documents exaggerating the experience of the company and its members, according to prosecutors. Between 2011 and 2013, the company managed to acquire lucrative contracts with Alameda County, the Los Angeles Housing Authority, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. It also nearly was awarded security contracts with the city of Oakland, the Port of Oakland, the city of Vallejo and the city of Newport Beach.

The many false claims investigators claim BMT officials made include that Parker had 50 years of experience in negotiation and conflict resolution management, that Dahood Bey, going by the name David Johnson, was a former FBI agent and had a degree from Princeton, that the company had prior government contracts that did not exist and that it had provided security at Disneyland.

The investigation began after BMT started a security contract with Alameda County. On the first day of service, April 17, 2012, a BMT employee got into a physical altercation with an employee of the previous security company. Hayward police were called and started an investigation. Upon learning that BMT was still listing it as its insurance carrier, the insurance company contacted district attorney’s investigators to alert them to the discrepancy.

The policy had been canceled in 2009 for non-payment of premiums, according to the complaint. Since then investigators uncovered the numerous other alleged counts of fraud in acquiring government security contracts.

This year BMT was close to acquiring contracts with the Port of Oakland and city of Oakland but both deals fell apart when some of the fraud allegations came to light. In addition to the fraud in acquiring city contracts, investigators claim the defendants were also involved in fraudulent real estate deals in attempt to acquire property surrounding their 818 27th St. building. No court date has been set for the seven defendants, Drenick said this morning.

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